Bird flu has been detected in a poultry farm with 9,000 hens in the Dutch town of Tzum, the ministry of economic affairs reported.
It is probably a mild H7 version of the bird flu virus which is not dangerous to human health, Xinhua cited the ministry as saying.
But the low pathogenic mild variant can mutate into one that is highly pathogenic, highly contagious and deadly for chickens. Therefore, the chickens on the farm will be cleared, the report said.
On Saturday, a transport ban of poultry, eggs and poultry manure was slapped in an area of over one km around the farm in Tzum in the northern province of Friesland.
The ministry said it was the fourth time this year bird flu has been detected on a Dutch farm. Earlier this year, a total of 120,000 chickens were cleared on farms in Lochem, Zeewolde and Leusden.
